Movies

Pixar Has Replaced Almost All Of The Voice Cast For The Good Dinosaur

Now every role is voiced by John Ratzenberger.

Pixar films are tweaked, and even drastically changed, right up until they’re released. Unlike most films, live-action or animated, where the story can’t be reworked due to looming release dates and set budgets, Pixar can be two years into a project and decide things aren’t working, then scrap everything but the title. Watch the special features for pretty much any Pixar film and you’ll see staff members discussing how a certain film was looking like a disaster, then changes were made and they ended up with Up or Ratatouille. Most of the time, we’re oblivious to these changes until after a film is released. But with The Good Dinosaur, the film’s problems have been front and center. Originally set for a 2014 release, The Good Dinosaur was pushed back to this November, making this the first year with two Pixar films, and director Bob Peterson was replaced by Peter Sohn. Now, other changes have been announced, as a press release for the film has revealed that most of the previously announced voice cast has been replaced.

Here is the official voice cast for The Good Dinosaur and brief descriptions of the film’s main characters.

Still, I trust Pixar’s judgment, and it isn’t like they replaced Lithgow, Greer, Harris, and Hader with bigger names. In fact, they did the opposite. As excited as I was to hear Lithgow in a Pixar film, Jeffrey Wright is an excellent replacement, and I can’t complain about a cast list that includes Sam Elliott as a T-Rex.

I admire the lengths to which Pixar will go to make the best film possible, and hopefully the changes made in The Good Dinosaur were for the better. We’ll get to see the finished product on November 25.